Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Introduction
Congratulations! If you are reading this in-
troduction you are at least contemplating
taking a trip to Argentina. If so, you can look
forward to an extraordinary vacation, enjoying
both man-made wonders and natural ones. Ar-
gentina is not yet a major tourist destination,
although the number of visitors from North
America has risen dramatically during the last
several years. The reasons are obvious. They
begin where everything begins in Argentina -
Buenos Aires.
One of the world's most wondrous cities, Bue-
nos Aires is more European than Latin Ameri-
can. Open the phonebook and you'll find as
many Italian surnames as Spanish ones. You'll
also find many British, German, Jewish and
Japanese names. Much like the United States,
Argentina experienced waves of immigration at
the turn of the century and after the Second
World War.
It is a city that hardly sleeps, with restaurants
routinely serving until 2 or 3 am. There are no
obvious slums and, unlike many US cities, the
“downtown” areas are not decaying. In fact,
they are the heart of the city, home to the best
hotels, shops and restaurants. You'll spend
much of your time downtown.
Soccer is a national passion; but, thanks to the
British, polo is also first rate.
